Loretto revives plan to build small homes in Cicero

Syracuse, N.Y. -- As part of its restructuring process, Loretto has dusted off plans it had mothballed a year ago to build one-story, small residences in Cicero for the elderly.

The project had been tabled because of concerns over its financial viability.

But last summer Loretto began reassessing the proposal with the help of an outside healthcare management consulting brought in to help the nonprofit become more efficient, said Kimberly Townsend, chair of the Loretto board.

Townsend said it’s too early to estimate when the project may be completed. “It’s our hope we will be able to complete the project over the near future,” she said.

The original idea was to take some of the residents of Rosewood Heights, an outdated 242-bed nursing home at 614 S. Crouse Ave., Syracuse, and move them into the Cicero project. Rosewood, owned by St. Joseph’s and Crouse hospitals, would then be closed.

Rosewood was recently added to the federal government’s list of the nation’s worst nursing homes. The federal government has given Rosewood 18 to 24 months to improve or face the possibility of losing its Medicare and Medicaid funding. The nursing home could not survive without those programs.

Shifting Rosewood residents to the proposed Cicero project is still part of the plan, she said.

Loretto also is working to develop the capability to provide complex care to patients who are ready to be discharged from local hospitals, she said. These patients often stay in
hospitals longer necessary because nursing homes are not capable of caring for them, she said.

The original Cicero plan called for the construction of 13 homes on land just west of Route 11 and north of Route 31. Townsend said an administrative building that was included in the original plan has been eliminated. She also said it has not been determined yet how many homes will be built.

“They are still in the final phases of scoping the project with the general contractor,” she said.

Loretto has not yet submitted revised plans to the town, said Jim Corl, Cicero supervisor.
“I think it would be an excellent addition to the Cicero community,” he said.

The small residences would provide a more homelike, less institutional setting for people who need skilled nursing care

Loretto is working to keep the project within its original cost estimate, $33 million. It received a $12 million federal grant to pay for part of the project and will finance the rest, Townsend said.

Because construction costs have gone up while the project was delayed, the architect and contractor are looking at ways to cut some of the project’s costs, she said.